Letters: Libya, education, pensions, cartoon, energy

Union-Tribune

Military action targets Libya

Once again, the U.S. is involved in another police action, total cost unknown, with no approval from Congress or mandate from the people. The country that cannot provide a cheese sandwich for its schoolchildren without a means test, cannot provide heating oil for its poorest citizens, and is cutting back on all education and social programs due to economics can always come up with funds for a police action anywhere.

Our faithful ally the Arab League requests our aid to do the fighting while its nations are busy suppressing democracy in Bahrain and their own countries and, by the way, will also provide us with oil at $100 a barrel or more if they can get it.

What do the American people get? The bill, of course. -- James E. Smith, Egger Highlands

It is still too early to know the outcome of the Libya conflict. But President Barack Obama has accomplished much in establishing a true coalition of the willing. It seems the French, British and other military forces are taking a leading role. No longer must the U.S. be out in front; it seems our coalition partners are doing their part. When has this been achieved before?

If the outcome is successful, Obama will go down in history for his foreign affairs policy. -- Edward Seebol, San Diego

Schools need to inspire learning

I agree with Gwenmarie Hilleary (“Our vision of schools must change,” Opinion, March 20). Integrating technology has already been implemented in many countries including the U.S. via the One Laptop per Child project, with documented successes. In Uruguay, every child is issued a laptop to support learning, including the learning of English.

Hilleary misses the mark, however, by focusing on computers and outcome expectations. What is truly at risk in our vision for education is: our children. I suggest we revisit “absolute basics”; schools as a place of belonging, safety and community that support each child’s innate curiosities, desire and abilities to learn.

I have never met a child without potential. I constantly meet children who lack opportunity. Mediocrity for lack of opportunity is simply unacceptable for the 21st century. There are many ways to go about visioning and creating the spaces for children to be successful in learning and life. Methods include project-based learning, integrating more arts and sports, handing each student a laptop computer, and more. Performance expectations for teachers and students are inevitable, but the “absolute basics” are crucial to fostering the potential for each and every child, as thus, our society.

Merryl Goldberg

Chair, Visual and Performing Arts California State University San Marcos

Taxpayers are wise to pension abuses

Jeff Jordan (“Spare public safety officers from reforms? No: It pays to exempt public safety,” Dialog, March 20) hopes the citizens and taxpayers of San Diego can be twice fooled on the issue of pension reform. He is mistaken.

The public employee unions of San Diego have demonstrated the numerous ways in which the pension system can be abused. At the heart of the issue is the fact that through “negotiated” increases in pension benefits, our representatives can secure lucrative campaign contributions from the unions while at the same time kicking the budget implications down the road for some other sucker – eventually the taxpayers – to deal with. This temptation for public officials to reap near-term benefits while avoiding the longer-term consequences is much too tempting for your average politician.

If the city needs to increase compensation to hire and retain qualified police officers, then by all means do so. It’s an expenditure that must be made and defended in the current budget year and a form of compensation much less subject to abuse than pension obligations. -- Jim Reardon, Rancho Bernardo

Moving portrait

Steve Breen’s editorial cartoons/art find the humor in many things and help me think more clearly about not only San Diego issues but often those of a global nature.

I found myself even more deeply moved on March 20 by his portrait of the elegant lady in ceremonial Japanese attire with a tear running down her cheek. He extraordinarily captured the pain and grief of that hard-hit nation, and the sorrow the rest of the world is sharing with the Japanese people. No words were necessary, his art said it all. Thank you. -- Sherri Lattuca, Serra Mesa

Nuclear confusion

U-T articles and letters about Japan’s nuclear power plant crisis often incorrectly conflate the relationship between how we generate electricity (using nuclear, coal, wind, etc.) and the price of gasoline. The overwhelming majority of oil is used for motor fuel, not for generating electricity. Shutting down nuclear plants (or building more) will have no effect on the price of crude oil or the gasoline that’s refined from it. -- Art Morris, Rancho Bernardo